176 EASTERN ETHIOPIA xiv 



}>ut fierce kitten in his charge. This unchecked scratch- 

 ing seemed to distress him very little. 



We were bound to shoot a number of animals in 

 order to supply our camp with meat. Porters when on 

 safari are supplied with flour made from mealies, and 

 they expect meat. When an opportunity offers these 

 men will eat a very large quantity of flesh, and if the 

 porters be kept well supplied with meat they are 

 contented, happy, and not so likely to desert the 

 camp. 



Certain precautions are necessary in regard to the 

 religious prejudices of the Mahomedans. The Somali 

 gunbearers carry a large sheath knife in their belts 

 for skinning animals when shot. When an antelope, 

 zebra, or buffalo is shot and it is safe to approach, the 

 Somali runs up with the object of cutting the animal's 

 throat before it dies : in such circumstances the 

 Mahomedans will eat the flesh. Should the animal 

 cease to breathe before the throat is cut by a Mahom- 

 edan, none will eat the flesh, but he will flay and 

 disembowel the animal for such of the natives who, 

 not being followers of Mahomet, may choose to 

 use it. 



The high grass which abounds in the Rift Valley is 

 the favourite haunt of the rhinoceros. This mammal, 

 like the elephant, is a huge, ungainly representative of 

 a giant fauna which was formerly common on the earth. 

 So numerous are the rhinoceroses in some parts of 

 East Africa that they are a nuisance to caravans. 

 Gregory, when making a journey near Baringo, had to 

 pass through scrub and thorny thickets. His porters 

 were charged several times in one day by these 

 colossal animals. He writes : They lay asleep, 

 until awakened by the noise we made, and then, 

 frightened and muddled, they charged wildly in all 

 directions through the scrub. These things happened 

 in 1893. 



tiiij-Aiiix. During our journey from Njaro 



